Bunion-guard.



W. H. DE FORD,

' BUNION GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a, 1908.

933,423. I r Patented Sept. 7,1909.

FIG-.2.

FIGA

' t INVENTOR WITNESSES: I

' wwzm @9s7m a BYWQW HIS ATTQRNEY .acitizen of the ;United States,

in the city of Pittsburg, Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented or discovered new and us'e-f'ulIImi provementsin Bunion-Guards,of which the To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be itknown 5 that *I', WILLIAM H. 'Dn FORD, and re'siding in the countyof% sn non-GUARD.

Application filedlseptember;3, .1908. ,Serial No. 451,502.

' specification of Letteralatent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

following is; a specification;

i econd joint of the great toe of a human oot.

Bunions arensually caused by improperly fitting or designed shoes whichresult in bending the great toe inwardly toward or overlapping theadjacent toes from its second joint, forcing out the joint into aprominent protuberance against which the shoe presses and which resultsin a very painful lameness. This protuberance is visible through theshoe and gives the foot a very unsightly appearance in addition tocrippling the sufferer.

My invention consists of a horizontally rlgid plate partially severed orcut across, so that a natural bending of' the foot in walking ispermitted. The plate is worn in the shoe and means are provided forsecuring the toe in its natural position, thereby reducing theprotuberance of the joint and restoring the natural contour of the foot.By curving the lateral, outside edge of the plate, I protect the toe andjoint against shoe pressure.

Many other novel and advantageous features will appear from thefollowing description. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s aperspective of a right foot fitted with my invention; Fig. 2 is a bottomplan view of a left foot; Fig. 3v is an enlarged bottom plan View of myinvention removed from the foot and Fig. 4 is a top plan view of thesame, while Fig. 5 is a cross-section along the line VV in Fig. 4. i

The following is a description of the drawings z- Y J 1 represents aright foot of a human be ing; 2 the second joint of the great toe whichis supposed to be distorted into a bunion.

3 is a plate, preferably of some substantial material such asspringsteel. Said plate is arranged to fit under the sole of the footwithin the shoe and may extend partially or wholly across the sole ofthe foot as may be desired." The said plate 3 is bentupwardly andinwardly-to inclos e the second joint 2 as at 4 in Figs. 1, 3 and 4,thus protecting said joint from the shoe and assisting the means"hereinafter described to reduce the bunionf and maintain the joint innatural alinement." Thesaid plate 8 is also bent up- My invention,generally speaking, con- 3 slsts of new and improved means for 'relievmgand curing bunionsor distortions of the l "wardly and slightly inwardlyto form portion*5 which embraces the great toe as shown in Fig. 1. Themetal of plate 3 is cut as at a before bending or stamping into theshape shown so that when bent up the portions 4 and 5 overlap somewhatand a natural bending action is thus provided in plate 3. Of course anyother convenient character of bending mechanism may be substituted forthe means shown but that above described has proven eminentlysatisfactory and is very inexpensive.

6 is a loop of leather or other suitable, flexible material, attached toportion 5 of plate 3 and adapted to embrace the great toe of the wearer,an aperture 7 being provided to accommodate the soft corn which usuallyappears on the inner side of a great toe in the case of a bunion.

8 is a lining for plate 3, preferably of hard rubber suitably attachedto protect the foot from the plate and to prevent rust. Any othersuitable lining, attached in any convenient manner, may be substituted,if desired.

It is evident that the plate 3 is practically rigid in a horizontaldirection so that the great toe secured in loop 6 cannot slip ormove-over toward the other toes into the unnatural position which it isdesired to correct, which return movement Would inevitably result if thegreat toe be not securely anchored in the natural alinement. As long asthe great toe is held in proper alinement, the bunion can be reduced bythe consequent relocation of the bones of the second joint in theirnatural relative positions. This lack of means for anchoring the greattoe in its proper alinement has been a cardinal defect in previousdevices of this general character.

Continuous use of my invention, maintaining the great toe in properalinement and thus gently forcing the second joint back into its naturalposition eventually results in curing the bunion and restoring the footto its proper contour. The provision for vertical bending in the plateallows the foot to bend naturally in walking or in other use, nothowever, in any way impairing the horizontal rigidity of the device orpermitting the great toe to escape from its proper position.

It will of course be understood that the device intended for the leftfoot will be the reverse of the device illustrated and that diflerentsizes and shapes will be provided to suit the feet of the wearers.

Although, for the sake of clearness, I have minutely described thepractical construction shown in the drawings, I do not wish to limitmyself thereby, but claim broadly 1. A bunion guard consisting of ahori- "Zontally rigid plate partially severed and disconnected toprovide a vertical bending action adjacent to the first joint of the toeand means'for securing the toe in proper alinement in said plate.

to protect the bunion from shoe pressure and ,1.

a second curved portion of said plate being adapted to protect the endportion of the toe from shoe pressure, the material of said platebetween said curved portions being partially severed and remainingdisconnected, the said curved portions being permitted to overlap,whereby a vertical bending action is provided in said plate, for thepurposes described.

Signed at Pittsburg, Penna, this 1st day of September, 1908.

l VILLIAM H. DE FORD. Vitnesses EDWARD A. LAWRENCE, J. H. HARRISON.

